Apparatus for forming continuous cigarette rods with air channels



Jan. 2l, 1964 R A BooTHRoYD 3,118,453

APPARATUS FOR FORMING CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE RODS WITH AIR CHANNELS Filed April 17, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet Al 4 rra/e Aff/VJ Jan. 21, 1964 R. A. BooTHRoYD 3,118,453

APPARATUS FOR FORMING CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE RODS WITH AIR CHANNELS Filed April 17, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 2l, v1964 R A. BooTHRoYD 3,118,453

APPARATUS FOR FORMING CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE RODS WITH AIR CHANNELS Filed April 17, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. ,P4/ffm@ /ff/rwfa/Jaarf/faw United States Patent O 3,118,453 APPARATUS FOR FORMING CONTINUOUS CIG- ARET'IE RODS WITH AIR CHANNELS Raymond Atkinson Boothroyd, Lyndhurst, England, as-

signor to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 103,320 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 21, 1960 4 Claims. (Cl. 131-66) This invention concerns improvements relating to the manufacture of cigarettes. An object of the invention is to provide simple but effective mains by which a small open air channel, or an air channel less densely filled with tobacco than the remainder of a cigarette, can be formed substantially longitudinally of the cigarette during its production on the cigarette-making machine.

As such a channel provides a path for the smoke offering less obstruction than the more tortuous path through the tobacco, a means is provided of controlling the total linear air flow through the cigarette by selection or adjustment of the size of the channel, or of more than one such channel. By this means, various advantages can be achieved. Thus, within limits, the amount of tobacco burnt in a given volume of air can be controlled and the cigarette can be designed to provide a longer or shorter smoke, that is the amount of tobacco burnt per draw on the cigarette can be controlled. A controlled easier draw through the cigarette can be obtained, making for more pleasing smoking conditions and allowing also the use of lter plugs of higher draw resistance and greater filtration eihciency than would otherwise be possible. The invention seeks to provide practical means for the attainment of these ends.

In accordance with the invention, means for producing a longitudinal air channel in a cigarette comprises a lin or blade which is disposed under or extends under the wide end of the tongue piece of a cigarette-making machine, and a length of rod or wire extending from the said iin or blade along the garniture and through the short folder of the said machine. Advantageously, the said rod or wire extends also under the paste wheel, through the long folder and under part at least of the seam heater of the machine.

One manner of carrying the invention into effect will now be more fully described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevation of the tongue-piece, blade and rod,

FIGURE 2, a bottom plan view thereof,

FIGURE 3, a perspective view of the said components in position on the cigarette-making of which adjacent parts are also shown,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional View in the direction of the arrows on the line 4-4 of FIG. l, showing the tobacco stream being formed into a rod around a solid wire core with the tongue disposed thereabove;

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing a modified form of wire core in hollow or tubular form; and,

FIG. 6 is a side elevational detailed view in which a rotating cutting blade is substituted for the stationary blade.

Of the relevant parts, shown in general outline in FIG- URE 3, of a well-known type of continuous-rod cigarettemaking machine, 1 is the garniture bed, 2 the tongue piece, 3 and 4 the tongue-box strips, 5 the short folder, 6 the paste wheel, 7 the long folder and 8 the seam heater with its heater iron 9. The stream of shredded tobacco 10 and paper strip 11 from which the cigarette rod is to be formed enter in the direction 12 between the tongue-box strips 3, 4 and pass under the tongue piece 2 and the cigarette rod 13 emerges from under the ICC iron 9 in the direction 14. The manner of operation of the said parts of the machine in producing the cigarette rod 13 is Well known and will not be further described, as the invention is not immediately concerned therewith.

A tobacco cutting or dividing blade 15 in the form of a Vertical fin is brazed or Welded at 16 to the under side of the wide end of the tongue piece 2 and a length of rod or wire 17, which may be integral with or attached to the said tongue piece, extends therefrom along the garniture between the strips 3, 4, through the short folder 5, under the paste wheel 6, through the long folder 7 and under a part at least of the heater 8. The diameter of the rod or wire 17 will be selected to suit the size of hole to be produced and, as illustrated, the rod or wire is flared somewhat at 18, so that the diameter ofthe end portion 19 is slightly greater than that of the rest of the rod or wire. Suitably, the blade 15 and wire 17 may be made of steel.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are transverse cross-sectional views in the direction of the arrows on the line 4 4 of FIG. l. In both figures the tobacco stream 10 has been partially formed into a tubular rod around the wire core beneath the tongue piece 2. In FIG. 4 the wire core is shown in solid form. It should be appreciated that this core may be in hollow or tubular form as shown at 17' in FIG. 5.

The tongue piece 2 is mounted on the tongue-box strip 4 and garniture bed 1 by means of a bracket 2t) attached by screws 21 to a mounting 22 received in sockets (not shown) in the said garniture bed. The vertical position of the bracket 20, tongue piece 2, blade 15 and rod or wire 17 can be set by means of screws 23 which are adjustable and securable in the bracket 20 and bear on the top of the strip 4. As illustrated, the rod or wire 17 is positioned to produce a hole substantially along the central axis of the cigarette rod.

By such simple means, a hole or holes can be produced effectively on a normal continuous-rod cigarettemaking machine operating at normal output speeds. During running of the machine the stream of shredded tobacco 10, on arriving under the wide end of the tongue-piece 2, will be centrally parted along approximately its top half by the blade 15. Aided by this parting action, as the tobacco advances along the garniture under the tongue-piece, the pressure exerted will cause the tobacco to rise up around and over the rod or wire 17, which becomes embedded in the tobacco stream. The hole thus formed, although reduced in size beyond the end portion 19 of the rod or wire due to the inward pressure of the tobacco will persist as the tobacco passes under the seam heater 8 and through the ledger plate and cutolf sections (not shown) of the machine and will remain as an open channel or less dense channel in the finished cigarette.

In place of the stationary blade 15 a rotating circular cutting blade 25 may be utilized. The circular cutting blade is preferably mounted for rotation above the leading end of the tongue piece as shown in FIG. 6, and the lower segment thereof extends through a slot in the tongue piece 2 so as to engage the moving stream of tobacco and part it before the stream encounters the wire core 17. The circular cutting blade is rotated by suitable means (not shown). In this form of device the leading end of the wire core is secured directly to the tongue piece 2 by suitable means, such as welding.

I claim:

1, In a cigarette making machine of the continuous rod type having a garniture bed with a rod forming section along which shredded tobacco is advanced and tapered, rod forming mechanism mounted on said garniture bed and having an entry end of maximum cross-sectional dimension to facilitate the entry of shredded tobacco therein and tapered to a minimum cross-sectional dimension to form with the garniture bed the desired cross-sectional rod dimension and also including a short folder, a long folder and a seam seater for securing a wrapper around the cigarette rod, the improvement which consists of providing improved mechanism for forming a longitudinal air channel through the tobacco rod comprising parting means in the form of a blade-shaped member mounted adjacent the entry end of the rod forming mechanism for parting the shredded tobacco as it enters the rod forming mechanism and an attenuated channel forming core disposed in said rod forming mechanism spaced from the sides thereof and extending from the parting means to a point beyond the short folder.

2. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which the attenuated core is supported only adjacent the entry end of the rod forming mechanism.

3. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which the attenuated core flares outwardly to an enlarged diameter at the opposite end from the parting means.

4. In a cigarette making machine of the continuous rod type having a garniture bed with a rod forming section along which shredded tobacco is advanced and tapered rod forming mechanism mounted on said garniture bed having an entry end of maximum cross-sectional dimension to facilitate the entry of shredded tobacco therein and tapering to a minimum cross-sectional dimension to form with the garniture bed the desired crosssectional rod dimension and also including a short folder, a long folder and a seam heater for securing a wrapper around the cigarette rod, the improvement which consists of providing improved mechanism for forming a longitudinal air channel through the tobacco rod cornprising parting means in the form of a blade-shaped member mounted adjacent the entry end of the rod forming mechanism for parting the shredded tobacco as it enters the rod forming mechanism and an attenuated channel forming core disposed in said` rod forming mechanism, spaced from the sides thereof and extending from the parting means through the point of minimum crosssectional dimension of said tapered rod-forming mechanism and through the short folder and long folder to a position adjacent the seam heater.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,415 Von Pittler Oct. 29, 1901 1,305,467 Hilpert June 3, 1919 1,559,322 Hohn Oct. 27, 1925 1,892,429 Frankel Dee. 27, 1932 2,308,323 Williams Jan. 12, 1943 2,669,996 Berriman Feb. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,324 Norway May 29, 1899 

1. IN A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE OF THE CONTINUOUS ROD TYPE HAVING A GARNITURE BED WITH A ROD FORMING SECTION ALONG WHICH SHREDDED TOBACCO IS ADVANCED AND TAPERED, ROD FORMING MECHANISM MOUNTED ON SAID GARNITURE BED AND HAVING AN ENTRY END OF MAXIMUM CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION TO FACILITATE THE ENTRY OF SHREDDED TOBACCO THEREIN AND TAPERED TO A MINIMUM CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION TO FORM WITH THE GARNITURE BED THE DESIRED CROSS-SECTIONAL ROD DIMENSION AND ALSO INCLUDING A SHORT FOLDER, A LONG FOLDER AND A SEAM SEATER FOR SECURING A WRAPPER AROUND THE CIGARETTE ROD, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH CONSISTS OF PROVIDING IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR FORMING A LONGITUDINAL AIR CHANNEL THROUGH THE TOBACCO ROD COMPRISING PARTING MEANS IN THE FORM OF A BLADE-SHAPED MEMBER MOUNTED ADJACENT THE ENTRY END OF THE ROD FORMING MECHANISM FOR PARTING THE SHREDDED TOBACCO AS IT ENTERS THE ROD FORMING MECHANISM AND AN ATTENUATED CHANNEL FORMING CORE DISPOSED IN SAID ROD FORMING MECHANISM SPACED FROM THE SIDES THEREOF AND EXTENDING FROM THE PARTING MEANS TO A POINT BEYOND THE SHORT FOLDER. 